New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a Bill to set up an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Guwahati with the Union government providing capital support of Rs 550 crore.
The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — which was passed amid din in the Lower House — will help set up the second IIM in the Northeast after Shillong.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan piloted the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as the Opposition continued with its protest over the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
After the passage of the Bill through a voice vote, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day.
According to the draft law, the Centre, the Assam government, and representatives of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) signed a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) for all-round development of the state.
The establishment of an IIM in Guwahati as an institution of national importance is one of the projects under the Special Development Package (SDP) provided to Assam.
At present, there are 21 IIMs that are declared as institutions of national importance and each of those is specified in the Schedule to the IIM Act.
The Assam government has requested the establishment of an IIM in the state, keeping in view the geographical location of the state and its all-round development.
The Bill noted that until the first Board of IIM Guwahati is constituted under this Act, all powers and functions, which may be exercised or performed by or on behalf of such Board shall be exercised and performed by such person or persons as the central government may direct on this behalf.
“Assam is one of the very few states with more than three crore population which does not have an IIM. As per the latest published results of the All-India Survey of Higher Education, more than five and a half lakh students are enrolled in higher education institutions in Assam,” the Bill noted.
“Assam is at the centre stage of all-round development of the region. Establishing an IIM at Assam shall boost the overall education and development of the region and open up significant opportunities for the students of the North Eastern Region of India to develop managerial skills,” it said.
The Bill noted that until the first Board of IIM Guwahati is constituted under this Act, all the powers and functions which may be exercised or performed by or on behalf of such Board shall be exercised and performed by such person or persons as the Central government may direct on this behalf.
PTI
